Art Here and Now » Painting

Zoom Into Every Brush Stroke of Art History’s Masterpieces

Trout Monfalco — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 03:34:39 +0000

Google Art Project launched this week, putting the work of art museums around the world online in a consolidated place. Using Google’s Street View technology, you can walk around the galleries and look at the art on the walls. At launch, museums include Tate Britain, MoMA, the National Gallery, the Van Gogh Museum and many more. For me though, the best part of this is the high resolution images of the artwork. You can zoom in on paintings like Van Gogh’s Field with Flowers near Alrles so far that you can see every brush stroke. Seeing images in a text book or in a standard Google search lets you get the layout of a picture. But looking at the work close up lets you see how the art was really made. That’s what I love most when I get to see art in person. Google Art Project recreates that experience when you can’t see the art in person – or when the museum is so crowded you can’t see it once you get there.

A preview of Google Art Project.

Behind the Scenes.

Google Art Project
Tate Britain’s experiences launching their collection in Google Art Project, and why they did it.

Update on Art and Artists in Space

Trout Monfalco — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:59:25 +0000

In a post several years ago, Artist Astronauts, Artist Cosmonauts, Artists in Space, we covered a lot of history of art and artists in space. Lately this topic has re-entered the news.

History Detectives on PBS covers a story trying to prove the fabled Moon Museum true or false.

Watch the full episode. See more History Detectives.

History Detectives online only interview with astronaut and artist Alan Bean.

Watch the full episode. See more History Detectives.

Alan Bean, astronaut and artist, appears on The Colbert Report.

Buy related work: In the Stream of Stars: The Soviet-American Space Art Book (by Alexey Leonov and others), Apollo : An Eyewitness Account By Astronaut/Explorer Artist/Moonwalker by Alan Bean, Baghdad Journal: An Artist in Occupied Iraq, by combat artist Steve Mumford, They Drew Fire – a documentary about combat artists in World War II; and work by Laurie Anderson.

Artist Astronauts, Artist Cosmonauts, Artists in Space

Ten Contemporary Indian Artists

Trout Monfalco — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:57:54 +0000

At this Ted Talk, Ravin Agrawai presents an overview of 10 upcoming contemporary Indian artists. Below is the talk, and more in depth information about each artist.

More about the artists

Bharti Kher at Hauser & Wirth
Alwar Balasubramaniam
Chitra Ganesh
Excerpt from Rabbithole
Jitish Kallat
Perspectives on contemporary art, interview with The Economist
N.S. Harsha
Dhruvi Acharya
Raqib Shah
A group show including the work of Raqib Shah where ornamentation is given voice.
Raqs Media Collective
Subodh Gupta
Show from the Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Ranjani Shettar

Indian culture found in the artist’s work

amar chitra kathas – “Immortal Captivating (or Picture) Stories”, is one of India’s largest selling comic book series, with more than 90 million copies sold in 20 Indian languages. Founded in 1967, the imprint has more than 400 titles that retell stories from the great Indian epics, mythology, history, folklore, and fables in a comic book format. (wikipedia)
bindi (as used by Bharti Kher) – is a forehead decoration worn in South Asia (particularly India) and Southeast Asia… Traditionally it is a dot of red colour applied in the center of the forehead close to the eyebrows, but it can also consist of a sign or piece of jewelry worn at this location. The bindi has become a decorative item and is no longer restricted in colour or shape. Self-adhesive bindis (also known as sticker bindis) are available, usually made of felt or thin metal and adhesive on the other side. These are simple to apply, disposable substitutes for older tilak bindis. Sticker bindis come in many colors, designs, materials, and sizes. Fancier sticker bindis are decorated with sequins, glass beads, or rhinestones. (wikipedia)

City Hostel, Seattle – Every Room by a Different Artist

Trout Monfalco — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:21:48 +0000

City Hostel, in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, features 54 rooms, each designed and decorated by 47 Seattle artists. The hostel also features a 20 seat movie theatre, with frequent art events, screenings and openings. In 2008, City Hostel was voted the top hostel in the United States by Hostelworld.com.

Artists were asked to volunteer their efforts instead of being paid outright, which caused some controversy in the Seattle art community. As some artists pointed out, when artists work on spec or for free, it devalues all artist’s work, making it likely future jobs to any artist will be for free as well. Hostels are however usually operated less for profit than passion. Hopefully in the future artists will be paid for their work. If the capital isn’t there for up front payment, then give them a royalty – 1% of the proceeds from each room stay goes to the artist who designed it.

Even without payment, the artists are largely excited about the project and the exposure it has actually brought after the hostel opened. The artists were uncensored and allowed free reign to the final outcome of each room, and have formed a community from the experience. Several reported commissions and buyers from the exposure even before the hostel opened.

Like other Art accommodations, this one is a unique, creative place to stay, celebrating local artists.

City Hostel site
Hostel Art Collective, a blog by the hostel’s artists
A list of all City Hostel artists
Hostel Art Collective Flickr Photostream
Lynn Shirmer’s Blog, thoughts on her experience working on her room
It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times, The Stranger Slog. Includes comments by many artists who argue the benefits they received from working on the project, even though for free
City Hostel Seattle – Some Actual Information, from Belltown People
Hostel in Seattle Voted Best in US from ABC News

Conan O’Brien’s Portrait Made From Cheetos

Trout Monfalco — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:33:21 +0000

Here is a timelapse video of cheesy art posted by Eclectic Asylum Art. The portrait is made from 4 varieties of Cheetos (much like this more traditional agriculture art is made from 4 varieties of rice), using 2,000 individual Cheeto.

Paintings from Living Rice – Inakadate, Japan

Trout Monfalco — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:23:00 +0000

Back in 1993, people of Inakadate in northern Japan began planting four types of rice in patterns, which when mature, would form huge images when viewed from above.

Here’s a timelapse of several of the paintings growing into place.

Farmers use computer-aided plotting to design images and determine where the different varieties of rice should be planted.

A close up view

In the years since, other regions of Japan (and people in other countries) have joined in the practice. Meanwhile, Inakadate’s creations have become much more complex and sophisticated. Agreements between farmers have also allowed the artworks to span multiple farms.

View from a paraglider:

David Hockney’s Advice for iPhone Painting

Trout Monfalco — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:03:03 +0000

For about a year now, as many stories have covered, painter David Hockney’s new medium is the Brushes application on his iPhone. He’s had a gallery show with this work, with more scheduled. He is certainly not the first. For painters he has this advice: use your thumb, not your index finger.

The thing is,” Hockney explains, “if you are using your pointer or other fingers, you actually have to be working from your elbow. Only the thumb has the opposable joint which allows you to move over the screen with maximum speed and agility, and the screen is exactly the right size, you can easily reach every corner with your thumb.

Some video of Hockney’s work, and his thoughts on what is unphotographable.

Hockney has a history of using technology to create artwork. Here he is in 1985 using the Quantel Paintbox to create computer art.

Read the complete interview, David Hockney’s iPhone Passion at The New York Review of Books.

Visit David Hockney’s official site.
Get the work of David Hockney.

Medici Bank Minister Pleads “No More Art, Please” in Newly Discovered Letters

Trout Monfalco — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:30:53 +0000

In these recently uncovered fake letters, imagined to have come from the archives of the fake University of Italy School of the Arts at Florence (UISAF), the Minister of Medici Bank, Francesco Sassetti, pleads with the head of the Medici Family and defacto ruler of the Florentine Republic, Lorenzo de’ Medici, to stop spending the bank’s and family’s holdings on the arts.
Available exclusively on Art Here and Now.

From: Francesco Sassetti, Minister – Medici Bank
To: Lorenzo de’ Medici, The Magnificent

Dear Lorenzo,
Though your family has a long history of supporting artists, because of the recent financial and political difficulties, I must request that you consider abandoning this legacy of extravagance.
As I have been balancing this year’s expenditures, I can’t help but notice the exorbitant amounts it requires to not only pay for artworks, but to also house and feed these artists. Michelangelo Buonarroti has been living in your household for five years, in excess of $90,000 per year [currency adjusted to equivelant U.S. Dollars -ed.]. Surely he could rent his own apartment, and you could simply purchase any artwork from him you liked once completed? Must we be responsible for an artist’s entire livelihood and every material need?

We must protect the assets of The Bank and the Medici trust, for the bank’s members and the family, both current and future. These creative works and artist supports are a drain on these financial resources, deprive these members from larger profits, and serve no purpose except the pursuit of notoriety.

I plead with you. We must stop this reckless spending. The livelihoods of bank stakeholders and future Medicis depend on it.

Sincerely,
Francesco Sassetti, Minister – Medici Bank

Dear Francesco,
Your bold pleading is certainly brave. Perhaps you have a death wish.
Ah, ha, just a joke!
You have a long history with me, and my father before me. Only from someone so dedicated to our cause would these words be tolerated. Yet I am sure you are not the first to think them.

Even if I accepted your argument that art was wasteful, you act as though we aren’t losing money in more ridiculous, costly ways. May I ask, how many horses do you own? How many rooms are in your house? How many banquets have you held this year? How many guests have you fed? I’m sure you like to be questioned about your expenses as much as anyone. I mention this purely for example, not from any plan to deprive you of your lifestyle.

In contrast to The Bank’s and Family’s complete holdings, housing a few artists and funding their work is a handful of pebbles freed from a mountain. We could indeed just buy completed works, but if so, then where would the artist live and work to make them? Michelangelo’s last work took a year to complete. The Dome took almost a lifetime. By what means should they live to make this work we would later buy? If they took to the trades to sustain themselves, then when would they have time to make this work?

I find your logic faulty.
-Lorenzo

From: Francesco Sassetti, Minister – Medici Bank
To: Lorenzo de’ Medici, The Magnificent

Dear Lorenzo,
It is my wish to eliminate all waste, regardless of size, so that we may all realize our maximum profits and potential. You must agree that over time, these types of expenditures throughout your history add up to far more than pebbles from a mountain.
You righteously question my horses, even though we have never once questioned The Giraffe? How much did the buildings, heating, feeding and men cost for that one? And to what end?

It is not my concern, and should not be yours, where, when and how these artists produce the work. Men must choose their paths. If they cannot succeed to secure a living from one trade, they must pursue another. If the quality of their work cannot attract enough buyers to support more in the future, then perhaps their work is not of a quality worth making.

Please invest this money in important endeavors, instead of supporting those who cannot support themselves.

Sincerely,
Francesco Sassetti, Minister – Medici Bank

Francesco,

Enough. Go no further.

I am the highest power of this family, the Republic of Florence and places beyond.
In this area, we will continue in our family’s tradition.
I owe you no explanation or justification. As our Minister, you will do as I command you.

For future clarity, to end this discussion, and out of some respect of your long service, I will conclude with these thoughts.

You have gall to demand we not support those who in their trade cannot support themselves,
when for all of your life we have done the same for you.
Do you think counting our money is more important work than creating The Basilica?

When we are all dead and buried, very few people will remember you and I.

They will remember Michelangelo and Leonardo. They will remember Sandro and Brunelleschi.
They will remember Florence as the place those artists lived. And they will remember us, if at all, as the people who helped them.

From vague, unsure memory they may believe we were kings. In some ways we are kings, because we are wealthy and powerful.
And like kings, we have some duty to our country and its people. Through learning, engineering and art, this duty is fulfilled, bettering the people, and making Florence a destination for others who seek an enlightened life.

Without this impulse, our money and power amount to nothing.
The Bank is not important and will not be remembered. The money’s only real worth is the lasting affect it has on our country and our world.

Midas follows all the others:
Turns to gold the things he touches.
Where’s the joy in owning treasure,
If it doesn’t give you pleasure?
And where’s the sweet taste for a man
Who only feels his thirst forever?
Who’d be happy, let him be so:
Nothing’s sure about tomorrow.

The Medicis will one day be gone, but the art will remain forever.

- Lorenzo de’ Medici

An elephant paints a self portrait

Trout Monfalco — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:51:39 +0000

In this post I pondered whether dolphins blowing bubble rings were a form of art. After all they serve no purpose except aesthetic ones – the dolphins are having fun and stare at them. So now we have this video of an elephant painting a self portrait.

Whether methodically trained to do this or not, how is it different than a person painting by plan? If you are trained to paint faux marble, or you paint by numbers, or you watch a show and follow along. What if you’re trained in a style? At what point does this trained mimicry become art, and when is it not? Is this elephant making art? Or is it just trained obedience, like a dog playing fetch?

The Real Mona Lisa Discovered

Trout Monfalco — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:35:28 +0000

Heidelberg University in Germany has solved the long asked question “who is the Mona Lisa?”

In margin notes of a book by Cicero, Florentine city official Agostino Vespucci, a friend of Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa was identifiend as Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant.

More from The New York Times and ABC News.

No Art, Only Entertainment

Trout Monfalco — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:18:22 +0000

I’ve noticed for quite some time that most media web sites and newspapers do not have an Arts section. The closest you find is Entertainment. The meaning of these two is of course very different, not because art can’t be entertaining, it can be. But art often has more purpose to it than that. By sticking only to “Entertainment,” the media avoids discussion of any of the other reasons for art, or the cultural criticisms it might be presenting. It takes the easy route, sticking to celebrity gossip and celebrity fashion, and not a bigger cultural context, or inclusion of any artwork whose main purpose may be something other than Entertaining.

If your TV station or newspaper covers only Entertainment and not the Arts, write them and ask why, and ask them to change it (not just the name of the section, but what they cover.)

Some examples of “Entertainment” and no “Arts”:

Some great papers that still have an Arts section:

Artist Astronauts, Artist Cosmonauts, Artists in Space

Trout Monfalco — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:23:17 +0000

I have all kinds of crazy dreams. I’ve had one of them for a long time, and I’ve never told anyone about it until now. Even for me it’s a nutty one. My secret dream was to be the first artist in space.

I had such a strong desire for this, I think, because all of our missions to space are so technical or militaristic. Yet if you’ve ever known anyone working in space travel (like NASA), you know how poetic they can be. My dream to be an artist in space is nowhere near as crazy as actually trying to get anyone into space at all. There is a certain long term humanity, a looking back on ourselves as a whole, a historic something that runs through these spaceborne intentions — from astronauts and engineers alike. Somehow though, that all gets lost. This is exactly the kind of thing artists explore. For much the same reasons artists are sent into combat, they should be sent into space. (And if you’re asking why do we go at all, isn’t there something better to spend money on? the answer in the short term is always yes. But long term, our planet’s species, including our own, have a much higher chance of surviving if we become interplanetary. This is covered in The Drake Equation.)

My heart skipped a beat when first hearing Laurie Anderson had been chosen as the first artist in residence for NASA. She’s the perfect candidate for this. Unfortunately when she asked “Do I get to go up?!” the answer was “No.” Sadly, she was the first and last NASA artist in residence. Representative Chris Chocola introduced and passed a bill specifically prohibiting NASA from having an artist in residence.

Little did I know that the first artists in space had already travelled long ago. The first was Russian cosmonaut Alexey Leonov in 1965 and the second was United States astronaut Alan Bean in 1969. Up until writing this post, I didn’t know that a small tile artwork titled The Moon Museum by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Claus Oldenberg and John Chamerlain was left on the moon by the crew of Apollo 12. There have been many other artist cosmonauts since then, of many nationalities, and many pieces of art flown into space.

This is in fact such a frequently pondered idea that there are several non-profits in existence solely to get artists into space programs throughout the world and get artists creating work for the context of space travel.

And Tate Modern, one of the top museums in the world, has plans in motion to create it’s next museum location in Earth orbit.

Organizations exploring art and artists in space: The MIR Network, The OURS Foundation at Ars Astronautica, and Tate Modern Space.

A great list of artwork taken to or created in space.

Artist-Astronaut: What the Future Told Us, a project by artist Debra Solomon.

Two blogs by on duty combat artists: Fire and Ice and Sketchpad Warrior.

In the Press: The Globe and Mail – Greetings, art lovers. We come in peace and The Times UK – Blast off: artistic adventures in time and space.

Travel to space on Virgin Galactic or Space Adventures.

Reverse Graffiti

Trout Monfalco — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:26:58 +0000

When you paint images not with spray cans or pigment, but instead by cleaning dirt and pollution from public places in artistic patterns – painting the image by removing dirt – this is reverse graffiti. This defaces no surface, and in fact starts to clean what a city should have cleaned to begin with. In order to remove the image, you don’t sandblast or get out the toxic cleaners. Instead you just finish cleaning the surface. The whole surface returns to its original bright clean color. Just like someone writing “Wash Me!” into the grime on a dirty car windshield might shame someone into actually washing their car just to get rid of the message – so reverse graffiti artists cause cities to clean where they should have already.

In São Paulo Brazil, artist Alexandre Orion:

In Paris, corporate reverse graffiti (for the Electronic Arts game Burnout, but through a beautifully designed guerrilla campaign at Kah Ra Shin):

Travel to Brazil or France (Travelocity).

The Daily Show, Art Authentication

Trout Monfalco — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:53:34 +0000

John Hodgeman appears to discuss art authentication.

Making Art Without Unmaking the Environment

Trout Monfalco — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 07:55:26 +0000

This post is part of Blog Action Day.

(Outside the norm, today’s post has intermixed store links to more easily show environmentally friendly art tools and materials.)

Art is still mostly a hand made thing. As most things hand-made, materials of the craft used to be natural – wood, clay, marble and natural pigments. But like other goods after the Industrial Revolution, art supplies became more toxic and harmful to the environment and artists. This is not only true for things like paints, thinners, and plastic based sculpture material, but also for photography, all the way from the roll of film to the final print. Over 10 years ago, some communities even banned film processing because of the toxic chemicals involved.

At the same time, artists want their work to be durable and high quality. How can you make high quality work while still keeping yourself and the environment safe?

Buy locally if possible. If you have to have supplies shipped to you, plan ahead and use ground shipping. Overnight and other types of air shipping require much more fuel, using more energy and leaving more pollution behind.
Try reclaimed surfaces to paint on. For instance, reclaimed masonite and other wood can be a great painting surface. You can also use scrap fabrics as canvas instead of new canvas.
Take photos with a digital camera. I have to be honest with you, I haven’t switched to a digital SLR yet. I still use my trusty 20 year old 35mm, but it’s time. I’ve been waiting for them to come down in price and go up in quality, and I’m about ready to make the plunge. The fact is, the manufacturing of film and developers, and run off from the chemicals that are left over, are terrible for the environment. Nothing is perfect, but digital is much more environmentally friendly. That isn’t to say you should throw away your perfectly good film camera, that’s wasteful too. But when the time is right, move on and take more eco-friendly photos.
Create work from recycled or discarded material. Make sculpture from auto-parts. Design clothing from discarded fabrics or dismantled clothes no one wanted. Create jewelry from old broken cellphones and eyeglasses.
Use environmentally friendly solvents and thinners.
If you have a choice of paint mediums, choose water-based paints, preferring watercolor over acrylics, and acrylics over oils. You may also be able to find soybean oil alternatives.
Use clay, wood or marble instead of plastic sculpture doughs.
Avoid aerosols and other sprayed pigment. Use spattering and other brush techniques instead, if possible.
Take care of yourself in your workspace. If you have to use spray pigment or varnishes, or you’re using any material that creates powder in air (such as pastels), keep good ventilation and wear a mask.
If you’re a musician, unless you have a reason for the long lost tradition of beautiful cover art or something else special for your fans, consider distributing digitally instead. Not only does this save energy and materials from manufacturing your CD, but also saves fuel and prevents pollution caused when they are shipped. You can do this yourself without a record deal using services like TuneCore. One day when more people have better viewing technology, filmmakers can do the same to distribute their work.

Obviously, great artists will always be more concerned with the end results. Sometimes the result will beg a process or material that is bad for the environment and the artist. But most of the time, a different, more eco-friendly choice can be made that won’t compromise the art at all.

If you have any other ideas, or links to other environmentally friendly art supplies that we might not have heard of, post them in the comments.

Read more:
Guide to Using Art & Craft Materials Safely
The Dangers of Modern Art
and last but not least
Eco Art Works, Earth Friendly Non-Toxic Art Supplies, Safe for you and the environment.